Coating machine



Nov. 14, 1944. A. T. ANDERSON COATlNG MACHINE Filed July 16, 1942ATLdrEw T .And Er 512m Patented Nov. 14, i944 n l' I Andrew Tr Anderson,Dover, N. J. Application Julyy 16, 1942, Serial No. 451,181 l iciaim.(Gis1- 46) :(Granteafunaer the mm' Maren-3, lsss, as Y e amended `April30, 1928: 370 0. G. 757) invention described 4herein may be manufacturedand used, by or for-the Government for governmental purposes, withoutthe payment to me of any royaltythereon.y

. This invention relates toa machine iorapplyin`g protective 'ridentifying coatings `to articles A of manufacture, particularly toammunition components.

Many articlesA oijmanufactur'e, such as componentsv ofammunitiomfrequire protective. coatings for theirperservation againstdestructive agencieswhich they may contact. Anl example y' showncomprisinguprightsv 2, radial arms; 4, and

braces E. At the ends of arms4 are mounted rollers 8 in such a mannerthat the `surfaces of tl'iey rollersv are substantially tangent `'to a.common horizontal plane; which may be considered to be the under side ofsupporttableV iii.y Table I0 is rotatable about short shai't i2, andturns on rollers 8. A lso supportedon shaft'iZfis an arm 84,1 carrying`a pawl I8 which .cooperateswith a ratchet wheel I8 secured to theunderside of table i8. An actuating member 20 is vpivotally mountl, edon one ofarms 4 and is connected tofpivoted is thek oxidizing eiiectoftheatmosphere onl most materials of construction. `.In addition,however,

' it is ofen necessary or desirable to providev c'ertain articles, vsuchas ammunition, with coatings of specified coloring for identificationpurposes.

" It is 'of course desirable that'such coatings be ap- 'plied aseconomically aspossible and that the results on the individual articlesbe -substan- 1 tially uniform. y

It is an object ofthis arm I4 by rod 22. Member'2lima`y be any of anumber of suitable actuators, s uch asa hydraulic 'or pneumaticIcylinder, electric solenoid, or the like. Member may b e fluid orelectrically opierated both on its .working stroke and its returnstroke, or itl may be spring :biased-in one directionif desired.

rinvention to provide a machine which coats ammunition components with aminimum pf handlingbyhuman oper" ators, and which applies the coatingVto any predetermined Vlength of the components. The ammunitionvisplaced into openings in a rotatable4 table or` support and suspends fromthe underside of the support. A container iilled with a) coat-formingsubstance is adapted to rise to permit at least one of the suspendedcomponents to dip into the substance. Intermittent rotation of thesupport moves the components into position in turn for dipping into thecoat-forming substance. An overflow device insures that the liquid levelin the containerremains substantially constant, so that the variouscomponents will be dipped to the same depth. The height tov which thecontainer rises may be adjusted for varying coating requirements. Meansmay/be provided to expedite drying of the coatingasuch as a fan As canbe seen'in4 Fig. y2, table Illvissubstantially circular in contour. Nearits periphery, the table is perforated, andthe perforations or holes4may be arranged in one or more concentricl circles, as shown. The holesin the several circles arepreferably aligned inlrows as shown by theaxis X-X drawn through one of these rows. The -holes are fittedwith'bushings orl adapters A24 t to receivethe ammunitioncomponents 28,or any 'otherarticles oi' manufacture. Articles26 are ao'thus'suspendedfrom table I0 byvv adaptersy 24,

to blow heated air past the freshly coated components. 4 e

The speciiic nature of the invention as well as other objectsandadvantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of apreferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 of the drawing shows a machine built according to the invention,with parts broken away and in 4section to showdetails. e

Fig. 2 is a top plan view, also with parts broken Fig. 3 is an enlargedview in section on line 8-8 o! Fig. 1.

as shown in Fig. 1. Ii' it ever be` desired to use the machine forarticles of a new size or shape.,

adapters 24 may be replaced by others to fit the` new articles.

Disposed beneath table III at any selected point on the frame is acontainer or a plurality of containers 28 open at the top for acoat-forming substance, such as paint, with which the suspended articlesare to be coated. Mechanism to provide relative movement of thecontainers and the table toward and from each other is indicated byactuatorl .m'ounted on bracket 82 and supporting the container orcontainers as shown. In order that the liquid in containers 28 'mayremain ata predetermined .level to insure uniformity of coating ordipping among the articles,

a suitable overflow means y"is preferably provided.

' In the embodiment shown, the said means consistsoi' a reservoir 84supported on bracket 88.

This reservoir is adapted to'hold a sufiicient quantity of thecoat-forming substance to keep the container or containers 28 submersedwhen ac-,

tuator is at the lower limit of its stroke. As

-discussed above in connection with actuator 28,

Reierring to the drawing in detail, a trame is u the means for actuatingmember 80 may be iiuid clamping plates 21. Bolts I8 extend through theslot to clamp upright 2' between plates -31 and bracket 32. The slot inmember 2' permits limited vertical adjustment oi bracket 32. If desired,similar adjustment may be provided for bracket 36 carrying reservoir I4.

If desired, means may be provided to expedite drying of the coating onthe freshly coated articles, in the form of fan Il driven by motor 40 totorce air past the freshly coated articles. A heater 42, such as thesteam coils shown, `is preferably provided to furnish heated air tostill further facilitate drying. The exhaust air leaving duct 44 may bewithdrawn into any suitable ventilating system. l y

If desired, an apron or housing 4i may be provided to shield the coatedarticles against dust, or to protect passing personnel from contact withthe freshly coated articles.

Operation- Starting with the parts occupying the relative positionsshown in Fig. 1, it is seenv that containers 28 are below the level 46of the coat forming substance in reservoir 34. Containers 2l are raisedby actuator lilk above this level 48. As the containers rise above thislevel, they are themselves filled to the rim with liquid; the containerscontinue to rise until articles 26 dip into the liquid a predetermineddistance.

' Since the liquid in the containers was at rim level before thearticles are dipped `into it, the increase in volume due toarticles 28dipping into the liquid does not raise the liquid level, but merev. lycauses ovenlow back into reservoir 24 of the displaced liquid. Thus theheight to which the liquid level rises remains at a constant maximum IAfter actuator l0 has reached the end of its working stroke,corresponding to the maximum height to which the liquid level rises, itretums containers 28 to their submersed position. Actuator 2l thereuponpivots arm I4 about shaft I2; pawl Ii engages ratchet wheel I8, so thatsupport Il rotates through a small angle in the direction indicated byarrow 48. This moves the next. row of aligned openings into position fordipping into the coat-forming substance as outlined above. Actuator 2ithen returns arm I4 to its starting position. During this return move'ment of arm I4, pawl It springs away from the teeth of wheel I8, leavingthe wheel and support where they are.'

Actuators 2l and 30 `are synchronized at the primary energy source sothat the rotary movement of support Il is arrested-i. e., the support isnot in motion-when containers 28 rise for the dipping operation. v

At some convenient point along the periphery of the frame, the freshlycoated articles pass through the drying station, at which heated air iscirculated past the articles as explained above. The dried articles maythen be removed and relplaced by uncoated articles.

I claim:

In a machine for coating articles, in combina` tion, a table providedwith means for suspending a plurality of said articles and meansmounting the table for rotation about a verticalr axis, a container fora coat-forming substance non-rotatively disposed beneath the table, thesaid container being adapted to accommodate the suspended articles in apredetermined portion of the table, means to eifect relative rotarymovement between the table and container to bring the suspended articlesand said container in cooperating lrelation, means to eiIect a relativevertical movement between the table and container to dip the suspendedarticles in the coat-forming substance of the container, said tablebeing provided with openings to hold the articles, and further providedwith bushings received in said opening adapted to the particular size ofsaid articles.

ANDREW T. ANDERSON.

